water under engine

[rtomblin]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at a 1999 21i Direct Drive w/ 200 hours. The owner and I took it out last week in nice weather (no rain) and we were out for about an hour. In that time, I noticed it accumulated about 2-3 gallons worth of water in the bottom under the engine. Nobody was swimming or anything so it wasn't dripped in. The water didn't have an oil or gasoline sheen on it. The owner said that's normal, but every boat I've been on wasn't supposed to take on water. Is this normal, or is there a leak somewhere that shouldn't exist? Please help..
Ryan

[da.bell]

The boat probably has a bad shaft seal that needs to be replaced or tightened.

[ajholt7]

Maybe needs the packing gland tightened on the shaft.

[ajholt7]

sorry I was too late on that one

[dogbert]

The '99 probably still has the traditional prop shaft packing, in which case it will leak a little bit. Over time, this packing material wears down and will need to be tightened. Every few years, you'll need to replace it. It should drip a few drops every few seconds to keep the packing material lubricated. If it's really 2-3 gallons, then you may need to either tighten the coupler nut or replace the packing altogether. There's a thread on the maintenance/technical care forum on how to do this.

[rtomblin]

So would this scare you guys away from the boat? How much do you think it'd cost to replace the packing, and is it something relatively easy to do? The guy's asking 16,800 for it. Its in good condition, tandem axle, tower w/ 2 speakers... I feel its a bit much, I just don't know if he'll come down...

[dogbert]

No, totally normal...within the specified tolerances. Price is about right if it's been well maintained and in good condition. Pretty low hours. Ask him when the last time was that he replaced the packing material. My guess it's never been replaced. It's about $3 and you'll need 2. Not sure of the size, but I want to say it's 1/4".
Rope Packing.

[da.bell]

It wouldn't scare me from a boat. It's normal wear and tear however, if he is asking more than you think it's worth, do a NADA.com lookup and see how much the boat is worth. $17k seems a little high for a 1999 boat.

Here is a Ski Sanger for less in Sacramento, CA http://sacramento.craigslist.org/boa/1231101655.html FWIW $14,900

[rtomblin]

Great. I'll ask him if/when he replaced the packing material. Lake Austin, nice boarding lake. I went to UT, graduated in Dec 08. I'm pretty much a beginner boarder, only gone w2w a few times. Will this boat be a good boat for boardin, or good enough at least? I've only boarded behind a crownline 20ft w/ no tower.

[dogbert]

Great. I'll ask him if/when he replaced the packing material. Lake Austin, nice boarding lake. I went to UT, graduated in Dec 08. I'm pretty much a beginner boarder, only gone w2w a few times. Will this boat be a good boat for boardin, or good enough at least? I've only boarded behind a crownline 20ft w/ no tower.

Ok, you're local. I'd go to the Ski Dock and ask Charlie (service manager) if they worked on the boat. If they did, then he can tell you more about the boat.

The 21i is a great boat for boarding. It's basically the same hull shape as mine, just a direct drive. Maybe we'll see you out on Lake Austin some time (my boat's red w/ a Monster Tower).

You're gonna love this boat!

[rtomblin]

Well, I USED to be local, haha. I got a job up in Oklahoma City. Yeah, I figured I could just throw a skinny sack under the rear seat, and make the weight distribution a little more like that of the V drive. Did you change out the tower, or was the Monster tower on it already?

[dogbert]

Well, I USED to be local, haha. I got a job up in Oklahoma City. Yeah, I figured I could just throw a skinny sack under the rear seat, and make the weight distribution a little more like that of the V drive. Did you change out the tower, or was the Monster tower on it already?

I bought the boat without a tower and added it on later.

There's a couple of guys on this board up in OKC. They might know something more about the boat.

[rtomblin]

Yeah, I saw one avatar w/ OU on it. I'm torn between this boat and an 01 mobius for sale on CL up here. 350 hours on the mobius, and it has a few nicer things on it, but he wants 22 for it. I did Nada, and came up w/ about 18... Just don't wanna go to the guy and slap nada across his face.

[Fit to be Tige]

You might also want to check the clamp on the hose for engine cooling. Mine wiggled or broke off, and we took on a ton of water and overheated. Mine came all the way off, but I could see how if it was loose you could take on water like you are describing.

I 2nd the notion of repacking - - it is easy and cheap to fix like dog says.

[Tanner]

Hmmmmmm, I've only seen 4 Tige's locally. Mine, Dom's, a friend who bought a 21i new, and a former co-worker. I seem to remember the co-worker's being an older 21i. Whats the guy's name that's selling it.

Got a link or any pics of it?... Maybe I can tell you more about it.

If you need someone who's familiar w/ Tige's to look at it, lmk. Although my experience w/ the I's is limited.